Derek+Suzuki+LMF

//Learning Motivation and Fun//


What are your 5 generalizations?
1. //**Competition correlates to age (younger more competitive, older more cooperative) when it comes to learning activity enjoyment.**// Although the data shows that cooperative learning experiences are consistently more enjoyable, the numbers also show that experiences that occur when the learner is older tend to be less competitive. Gina had mentioned that, as an eleven-year old, the element of competition made learning about pirates and samurai fun. Casey had recalled that when she was 22 and learning wake boarding, part of the reason it was fun was that everyone that she was with was very supportive and encouraging of each other.


 * Age ||= High Competition ||= % ||= Low Competition ||= % ||
 * 2-9 ||= 3 ||= 30% ||= 7 ||= 70% ||
 * 10-19 ||= 11 ||= 34% ||= 22 ||= 66% ||
 * 20-29 ||= 12 ||= 33% ||= 25 ||= 67% ||
 * 30-39 ||= 4 ||= 16% ||= 22 ||= 84% ||
 * 40-49 ||= 1 ||= 9% ||= 11 ||= 91% ||
 * 50-59 ||= 0 ||= 0% ||= 4 ||= 100% ||
 * 60-69 ||= 0 ||= 0% ||= 3 ||= 100% ||
 * 70+ ||= n/a ||=  ||= n/a ||=   ||
 * did not include medium competition in data analysis

2. //**Teacher/media controlled activities are less common than independent learning activities when it comes to "fun".**// According to the data, it appears that the highest amount the fun learning activities occurred when there was a balance between teacher/media controlled instruction and independent activity. This is probably due to the fact that the teacher or program would need to introduce the lesson/activity. Avni noted that in her class Tech Lab 2000 the reason why she had fun was the fact that the class was very informal. The teacher didn't mind what their project was about or interested in product, as long as they were learning about technology. For Alexander and his digital sound for film class, his experience was fun because he was learning about something new that the teacher was able to introduce to him. Perhaps the control of the activity is more dependent on how familiar we are with the subject matter. If a student is interested in computers, they may be able to enjoy learning about them independently. However, if they have no experience in art appreciation, a teacher or program could make the new experience fun and engaging. in activity ||= Number of responses ||
 * = Percentage of teacher control
 * = 100 ||= 14 ||
 * = 80 ||= 15 ||
 * = 60 ||= 43 ||
 * = 40 ||= 29 ||
 * = 20 ||= 26 ||
 * = 0 ||= 17 ||

3. //**Sensory richness is very important to having an enjoyable learning experience.**// The data shows that 84 respondents (52%) felt that high sensory richness contributed to the enjoyment of the learning experience. 56 respondents (35%) had an experience with medium sensory richness and only 21 respondents (13%) had an experience with low sensory richness. Mary Ann144 noted that her educational trip to Ellis Island was special because she was able to "re-live" the journey that her grandmother had made thanks to the audio headset that she had on. Scott recalled that when his teacher had lectured to him about graphic design he was not very interested. It wasn't until he was able to walk around the room and see the process of creating the products, that the "light came on" for him and he felt that he would really enjoy this subject.

4. //**Social recognition correlates to age (younger more recognition, older less).**// The data seems to be evenly distributed among the age divisions. However, there appears to be a slight difference in high social recognition when comparing the 10-29 age group versus the 30-49 age group. The data indicates that there is a slight shift from high to low social recognition as the respondents' ages increased. Hugh's interview of his experience learning Go at an early age also reflects the importance of having a reward for younger learners. He stated that "to get a little kid to play a game that requires you to sit down, not move and start thinking, requires a motive. You have to give them a reward to do that."

recognition ||= Medium recognition ||= High recognition ||
 * = Age ||= Low
 * = 2-9 ||= 3 ||= 5 ||= 3 ||
 * = 10-19 ||= 12 ||= 18 ||= 14 ||
 * = 20-29 ||= 13 ||= 27 ||= 10 ||
 * = 30-39 ||= 14 ||= 7 ||= 6 ||
 * = 40-49 ||= 8 ||= 6 ||= 2 ||
 * = 50-59 ||= 4 ||= 1 ||= 0 ||
 * = 60-69 ||= 1 ||= 1 ||= 1 ||
 * = 70+ ||= n/a ||= n/a ||= n/a ||

5. **//Experiences that provide a moderate challenge to the learner will be most popular.//** The data actually shows that more respondents (71) found their fun learning experience to be difficult/challenging rather than moderately challenging (60) or easy (22). Cliff had talked about his experience about learning about search and rescue techniques was very challenging which made the experience that much better. He also mentioned that he enjoyed trainings like that because it "stretched" him and had a risk factor.